Digital Commons Network^™

Usability Of The Digital Library: An Evaluation Model, Judy Jeng

Faculty Publications

Summary report from the 2004 ACRL Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship recipient

Topographies Of Home And Citizenship: Arab American Activists, Lynn A. Staeheli, Caroline R. Nagel

Faculty Publications

Home and citizenship carry contradictory and ambiguous meanings for immigrants as they negotiate lives ‘here’ and ‘there’. We use the concept of topography to analyze the ways in which activists in the Arab-American community draw connections between homes in the United States and in the Middle East. In intensive interviews, we ask activists about how their understanding of home influences their activism and positioning as citizens within the United States. Activists often bring to their work conceptualizations of home and citizenship that are open, and that connect home to broader forces operating at various scales and in more than one …

Constructing Commercial Indices: A Semiparametric Adaptive Estimator Approach, Douglas J. Hodgson, Barrett A. Slade, Keith Vorkink

Faculty Publications

Constant-quality commercial indices generated by ordinary least squares may suffer an efficiency loss due to leptokurtosis caused by outliers in transactions data. When the subsequent nonnormality occurs, substantial improvement in index precision is obtained by estimating the hedonic model using a semiparametric adaptive estimator technique. When this method was applied to 1,846 office transactions that occurred in the Phoenix metropolitan area from January 1997 through June 2004, a substantial standard error reduction of approximately 9% was realized relative to ordinary least squares estimates. The difference in average returns between the semiparametric method and ordinary least squares was about 0.25% in …

Search Engine Bias And The Demise Of Search Engine Utopianism, Eric Goldman

Faculty Publications

Due to search engines' automated operations, people often assume that search engines display search results neutrally and without bias. However, this perception is mistaken. Like any other media company, search engines affirmatively control their users' experiences, which has the consequence of skewing search results (a phenomenon called "search engine bias"). Some commentators believe that search engine bias is a defect requiring legislative correction. Instead, this Essay argues that search engine bias is the beneficial consequence of search engines optimizing content for their users. The Essay further argues that the most problematic aspect of search engine bias, the "winner-take all" effect …

The Effectiveness Of The Nafta Environmental Side Agreement's Citizen Submission Process: A Case Study Of Metales Y Derivados, Tseming Yang

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Does Avoiding Constitutional Questions Promote Judicial Independence?, Lisa A. Kloppenberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Aliens With Guns: Equal Protection, Federal Power, And The Second Amendment, Pratheepan Gulasekaram

Faculty Publications

The nexus between guns and alienage presents a window through which to assess the competing constitutional values embodied in the Equal Protection Clause, the federal foreign-affairs power, and the Second Amendment. This Article analyzes the application of equal-protection norms and the federal foreign-affairs power on federal and state statutes that restrict the ability of non-citizens to bear arms. Professor Gulasekaram argues that courts should evaluate alienage restrictions at both the state and federal level under a unified analytic framework that would attempt to reconcile both personhood norms, such as equality, and gate-keeping norms vindicated by reliance on federal-power doctrines. As …

A Coasean Analysis Of Marketing, Eric Goldman

Faculty Publications

Consumers claim to hate marketing - mostly, because they get too much unwanted marketing. In response, regulators develop medium-by-medium marketing suppression regulations. Unfortunately, these ad hoc solutions do little to satisfy consumers, and dynamic technologies and business practices quickly render them moot. Instead of continuing this cycle, there would be some benefit to developing a cross-media marketing regulatory scheme.

However, any holistic solution must be predicated on a clear rationale for regulating marketing. The most common justification is that marketing imposes a negative externality on consumers, but this argument ignores the private and social welfare created by marketing and can …

Development Of An Electroless Method To Deposit Corrosion-Resistant Silicate Layers On Metallic Substrates, Swaminatha P. Kumaraguru, Basker Veeraraghavan, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

A novel electroless method for depositing corrosion-resistant silicate layers on metallic substrates from aqueous solutions has been developed. The silicate layer was deposited from an aqueous solution of sodium silicate (3.22 weight ratio sodium silicate, 37.5% solution in water from PQ Corporation) and sodium borohydride. The technique is demonstrated by forming a passive film on galvanized steel. Deposition parameters such as concentration of the bath, temperature, and pH have been optimized based on the corrosion characteristics of the final coating. Studies on the coating reveal the formation of a very thin (5 nm) zinc disilicate layer followed by a much …

Markets For Markets: Origins And Subjects Of Information Markets, Miriam A. Cherry, Robert L. Rogers

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

After the death of Pope John Paul II, a papal conclave convened to elect his successor. The media speculated that certain candidates were the "frontrunners" to watch. At the same time, pools formed on web sites to predict the outcome of the conclave, either for fun (using virtual money) or for profit. Throughout the days that the conclave met in April of 2005, trading continued, and ultimately the various markets predicted both that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger would emerge as the next pope and that he would choose the name Benedict XVI. After the white smoke signifying a new pope …

At The Top Of The Pyramid: Lessons From The Alpha Women And The Elite Eight, Jayne W. Barnard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reduce, Refine, Replace: The Failure Of The Three R’S And The Future Of Animal Experimentation, Darian M. Ibrahim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Criminal Defamation And The Evolution Of The Doctrine Of Freedom Of Expression In International Law: Comparative Jurisprudence Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights, Jo Pasqualucci

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Initial Public Offerings: Cfo Perceptions, James C. Brau, Patricia A. Ryan, Irv Degraw

Faculty Publications

We examine four issues pertaining to initial public offerings (IPOs) using a survey of 438 chief financial officers (CFOs). First, why do firms go public? Second, is CFO sentiment stationary across bear and bull markets? Third, what concerns CFOs about going public? Fourth, do CFO perceptions correlate with returns? Results support funding for growth and liquidity as the primary reasons for IPOs. CFO sentiment is generally stationary in pre- and post-bubble years. Managers are concerned with the direct costs of going public, such as underwriting fees, as well as indirect costs.We find a negative relation between a focus on immediate …

Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, Sherry Baker

Faculty Publications

This timeline is a work in progress. It is posted currently as a PDF file in order to make it available in a timely manner to scholars who are working on Mormon media history, or any other scholarship for which it might be helpful and informative. It is anticipated that the timeline eventually will be reworked into media formats that will make it more accessible, and that will allow it to be updated, enhanced, and corrected over time. If you wish to comment upon this Mormon Media History Timeline, contact Sherry Baker at [email protected].

User Choices And Regret: Understanding Users' Decision Process About Consensually Acquired Spyware, Nathaniel Good, Jens Grossklags, David Thaw, Aaron K. Perzanowski, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Joseph Konstan

Faculty Publications

Spyware is software which monitors user actions, gathers personal data, and/or displays advertisements to users. While some spyware is installed surreptitiously, a surprising amount is installed on users’ computers with their active participation. In some cases, users agree to accept spyware as part of a software bundle as a cost associated with gaining functionality they desire. In many other cases, however, users are unaware that they installed spyware, or of the consequences of that installation. This lack of awareness occurs even when the functioning of the spyware is explicitly declared in the end user license agreement (EULA). We argue and …

Gendering The City, Gendering The Nation: Contesting Urban Space In Fes, Morocco, Rachel Newcomb

Faculty Publications

An actor-centered approach to the gendering of urban spaces demonstrates how individuals respond to competing ideologies in determining the rules that surround women’s presence in urban, Muslim spaces. This article examines how women in the Ville Nouvelle of Fes, Morocco draw on local conceptualizations of hospitality, kinship, and shame as they debate the gendering of four urban areas: the street, the café, a cosmopolitan exercise club, and cyber space. Women’s tactics for occupying social space indicate the resilience of local culture in the face of ideologies that attempt to posit a specific vision of women in the Moroccan nation state.

Web Services And Virtual Communities, Qingyu Zhang

Faculty Publications

With the escalating need for global and flexible interactions in an increasingly networked society, virtual communities as a new model are becoming important for virtual communication and collaboration. Virtual community refers to a group of people who interact socially for mutual benefits in a shared cyberspace, and a social network of relationships that provide information and a sense of belongings (de Moor & van den Heuvel, 2004; Schubert & Ginsburg, 2000). Schubert and Ginsburg (2000) describe virtual communities as the union between individuals or organizations who share common values and interests using electronic media to regularly communicate within a shared …

Microwave Observations Of Daily Antarctic Sea-Ice Edge Expansion And Contraction Rates, David G. Long, Jeffrey R. Allen

Faculty Publications

Algorithms for estimating sea-ice extent from remotely sensed microwave sensor data can benefit from knowledge of the "a priori" distribution of the daily expansion and contraction of the sea-ice pack. To estimate the probability distribution of daily Antarctic sea-ice extent change, two independent sea-ice datasets are analyzed: sea-ice extent derived from the QuikSCAT scatterometer and ice concentration estimates from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager. The daily sea-ice advance and retreat is tracked over a four-year period. The distribution of the daily sea-ice advance/retreat from each sensor is similar and is approximately double-exponential. Daily ice-pack statistics are presented.

The Changing Culture Of American Land Use Regulation: Paying For Growth With Impact Fees, Ronald H. Rosenberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Right To Counsel In Criminal Cases, A National Crisis, Mary Sue Backus, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Crisis In Indigent Defense: A National Perspective, Mary Sue Backus, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Deferred Compensation Reform: Taxing The Fruit Of The Tree In Its Proper Season, Eric D. Chason

Faculty Publications

Executive pensions (or deferred compensation) grabbed headlines after Enron's collapse and fresh concerns over ever-increasing executive pay. They also grabbed the attention of Congress, which reformed executive pensions legislatively in 2004 with § 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A merely tightens and clarifies the doctrines that had already governed executive pensions, leaving the basic economics of executive pensions unchanged. Executives can still defer taxation on current compensation until actual payment is made in the future. Deferral still comes at the same price to the employer, namely the deferral of its deduction for the compensation expense. Thus, the timing …

Should The Supreme Court Fear Congress?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Jurisdiction And The Internet: Returning To Traditional Principles To Analyze Network-Mediated Contacts, A. Benjamin Spencer

Faculty Publications

Courts have been evaluating the issue of personal jurisdiction based on Internet or "network-mediated" contacts for some time. The U.S. Supreme Court has remained silent on this issue, permitting the federal appeals courts to develop standards for determining when personal jurisdiction based on network-mediated contacts is appropriate. Unfortunately, the circuit approaches-which emphasize a Web site's "interactivity" and "target audience" -are flawed because they are premised on an outdated view of Internet activity as uncontrollably ubiquitous. This view has led courts to depart from traditional jurisdictional analysis and impose elevated and misguided jurisdictional standards. This article argues that courts should reinstitute …

Punishing Children In The Criminal Law, Cynthia V. Ward

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Bodies Of Difference: Experiences Of Disability And Institutional Advocacy In The Making Of Modern China, Michael Ashley Stein, Penelope J. S. Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Law Review Article Placement: Benefit Or Beauty Prize?, Dennis J. Callahan, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

New Orleans, The Chesapeake, And The Future Of Environmental Assessment: Overcoming The Natural Resources Law Of Unintended Consequences, Erin Ryan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Body Image And Beliefs About Appearance: Constraints On The Leisure Of College-Age And Middle-Agewomen, Toni Liechty, Patti A. Freeman, Ramon B. Zabriskie

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body image, beliefs about appearance, and leisure constraints for college-age women and their mothers. The Body-Image Assessment Scale, the Beliefs About Appearance Scale, and a hierarchical leisure constraints scale were used to assess body image concerns, and leisure constraints. A convenience sample of 116 female students at a private American university and 76 of their mothers was utilized. Multiple regression and t-tests were used to analyze the data. Findings suggested that body image and beliefs about appearance pose leisure constraints for college-age and middle-age women. Findings also suggested that …